Everyday is a Winding Road
by EllaKnight22
Summary: How it should have been!  Picks up from the end of the Season 6 episode ‘All In The Family’, Lucy doesn’t die.  Instead she survives but has to deal with the consequences of what happened to her.  Carcy all the way!
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Everyday is a Winding Road  
**Author: **EllaKnight22  
**Disclaimer: **I own nothing!  
**Rating: **T  
**Pairing: **Carcy!!  
**Summary: **How it should have been! Picks up from the end of the Season 6 episode 'All In The Family', Lucy doesn't die. Instead she survives but has to deal with the consequences of what happened to her. Carcy all the way!!

"OK that's it, we've done everything we can…" Dr Romano said, defeat evident in his voice. Elizabeth stared hopelessly at her superior. Romano looked back at her, a glimpse of sadness in his eyes. She had never seen him show any emotion before and it scared her. A lump formed in her throat as realisation set in.

"Hold compressions" he said, instructing himself. The shrill warning sound emanating from the machine echoed as he reluctantly pulled his hands from Lucy's heart. There was a pause as both surgeons stood there, unable to comprehend that they had lost one of their own. Lucy's heart failed to beat.

"Damn it!" Robert protested, rage building up in his eyes. "Son of a bitch!" he yelled as he angrily toppled over a trolley, not capable of containing his frustration.

"No…No, no let's give it a minute for the last epi to circulate" he said, returning swiftly to the table and resuming heart massage. "Charge to 30!!" he shrieked, his hands shaking as they made Lucy's heart beat. Elizabeth stared at him with tears in her eyes, unsure of what to do.

"Robert…" she meekly protested, but he was having none of it.

"Come on Lizzie lets go! Charge to 30!!" Although in her own opinion it was a lost cause she knew why he wanted to continue, and for the same reason so did she. As she wiped the tears from her eyes she grabbed the internal paddles and regained her composure.

"Clear!" she yelled. There was an expectant pause, for a moment they waited to hear if their last attempt had worked. It seemed like an eternity. The machine returned to its monotonous tone. Flatline.

Romano sighed loudly and tried to clear his head. He resumed heart massage as he frantically thought of a solution. "We must be missing something here. It's not over yet"

Elizabeth closed her eyes tightly, willing the tears not to fall. "Hang another two units!" she ordered, her voice crackling with emotion. As she continued to squeeze the bag providing Lucy oxygen through her trach tube she leaned in close to her ear and spoke to the dying med student. "Don't give up Lucy, I'm not losing you now, not here, not like this."

"Give another high dose epi! Now!" commanded Robert as he rhythmically massaged Lucy's heart. "Charge the paddles to 40!"

Elizabeth effortlessly followed his order and grabbed the internal paddles. "Clear!!" she shouted. There was another more laboured pause as Elizabeth and Romano silently prayed for a miracle. The monitor registered a blip.

"We've got a heartbeat. She's back in sinus" one of the nurses stated in wonder.

"I've got a weak carotid pulse" said another.

Romano and Elizabeth took deep breaths and regained their composure. A look of relief appeared on Elizabeth's face. "Well done Miss Knight" she said to the unconscious patient while gently stroking her hair.

"Back to the task in hand Lizzie. Let's continue with the Greenfield filter." Robert calmly said, his voice devoid of the emotion it had contained only moments before. As both surgeons continued the procedure they both knew that they weren't out of the woods yet. Lucy had been down for a while and her brain had most likely been deprived of oxygen. They could only wait and see…

"Good. Sensation's intact" Peter Benton said as he assessed Carter post operatively, a small smile playing on his lips. He had worked hard on Carter, determined to give him the best possible outcome and it had paid off.

Carter acknowledged the statement but his expression remained the same. He was still trying to take everything in. Peter watched his former med student closely. "You were lucky Carter" he informed him.

"I know" he replied, almost immediately. Carter met his gaze. "Thank you".

Benton looked down, focussing on his assessment. "You're welcome. All right, I'm gonna test your motor strength. Lift your leg" he instructed.

Carter sighed heavily with tiredness in his eyes and turned his head to the side. He just wanted to be alone, but first he had to know how she was. "How's Lucy doin?" he inquired.

Peter sighed and looked at the floor. Reluctantly he pulled a chair up and sat down closer to Carter. He was hoping he wouldn't have to be the one to tell him but knew it was inevitable.

Carter observed his every move and expression, mentally scrutinising each action, desperately trying to determine what his old mentor was going to tell him.

Peter forced himself to meet Carter's gaze. "There was a complication after her surgery. She developed a pulmonary embolism. They fixed the clot and then she coded on the table. They got her back but she's in a coma." Peter said despondently, giving a clue to the severity of her prognosis.

"But she's alive?" Carter asked, needing confirmation.

"Yes" Peter replied unable to meet Carter's gaze.

Carter took a deep breath and laid his head back on the pillow, digesting all the information he had just been given. The two men sat in silence for a few moments. "I want to see her" he finally responded while staring at the wall.

"Not yet man, you need your rest…" Peter informed him.

"I said, I want to see her" Carter defiantly responded, trying to remain calm.

Peter recognised the stubborn attitude he had come to accept but as his doctor felt the need to protest. "Carter, I promise I will take you there myself in the morning but right now you gotta get some sleep" he forcefully replied.

Carter finally turned his head and faced Peter. "With all due respect Dr.Benton, I'm going to see her with or without your help, so if you don't help me into that wheelchair I'll do it myself." Carter responded emphatically.

Peter knew he had lost. The surgeon put his hands on his hips and exhaled loudly. "Ok but you got 5-"

"-10 minutes" Carter interjected cutting him off.

Peter looked at Carter in annoyance. "Fine. 10 minutes but then you're getting back to bed and you're staying there until I say so."

"Deal" Carter responded as he shifted over on the bed ready to be helped into the wheelchair. He winced in pain and clenched his fist.

"Easy man" Peter worriedly responded.

"My back is killing me" Carter complained.

Peter helped him into the chair and made sure he was comfortable. When he had mobilised the IV he disconnected the monitor and wheeled Carter slowly down the corridor in silence. Carter's heart pounded frantically in his chest, the suspense killing him. He needed to see her but he was afraid of what he was going to find. He couldn't bear to think of her in that state. Especially when he felt responsible for how it had happened. As they neared the ICU they could see the silhouette of Elizabeth sitting by Lucy's bedside in the darkened room. She turned around as she heard them enter. Tears formed in her eyes as she caught sight of the man in the wheelchair and the expression on his face at seeing Lucy.

"Carter, do you really think you should be out of bed so soon?" Elizabeth queried in concern.

Peter sighed and wheeled Carter closer to the bed. "That's what I said but he was determined he was going to see Lucy" he explained.

Carter still hadn't said a word. Elizabeth sensed the tension in the room and realised Carter needed to be alone. As she rose from her chair she motioned for Peter to leave and went to follow him out. She paused behind Carter and swallowed hard clearing her throat.

"She was stabbed several times, twice in her abdomen, twice in her chest and once in the neck." Elizabeth said softly. "Her liver was damaged and there was a laceration to her proximal aorta. They performed a thoracotomy in the ER after she arrested. Then they gave her a trach to maintain her airway before bringing her to the OR."

Elizabeth took a deep breath and watched for any sign of emotion from Carter but there was none. He merely stared at Lucy, not taking his eyes from her.

"We managed to repair her liver in surgery however we did have to remove her spleen. She awoke after surgery and I spoke with her. Shortly after she developed a pulmonary embolism. We took her to angiography to insert a Greenfield filter but she developed another clot and arrested again. We managed to remove the clot and eventually we got her back." Elizabeth wiped a stray tear from her eye and looked up at Carter. He was still staring at Lucy but his hand was beginning to shake. She could see fresh tears spring into his eyes and he gulped hard.

Elizabeth began to cry at the sight. "Carter she was down for 12 minutes. Her brain was more than likely starved of oxygen." She told him honestly. "We conducted a brain activity scan and there is still some significant activity but her injuries are very grave."

Carter gulped again and spoke for the first time "Will she wake up?" he said, his voice quivering with emotion.

"I don't know" Elizabeth hopelessly replied. With that she slowly turned and left the room. Peter was waiting outside. He offered a consoling shoulder for her to cry on.

Carter leaned forward and took Lucy's hand in his as the tears fell from his eyes. "I'm sorry" he whispered, hoping she could hear him. Hoping she would wake up. Willing her to be ok.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: **Everyday is a Winding Road  
**Author: **EllaKnight22  
**Disclaimer: **I own nothing!  
**Rating: **T  
**Pairing: **Carcy!!  
**Summary: **How it should have been! Picks up from the end of the Season 6 episode 'All In The Family', Lucy doesn't die. Instead she survives but has to deal with the consequences of what happened to her. Carcy all the way!!

-----

Carter stared at the snow as it fell slowly past his window. He had been watching it all day long. His room was silent and calm but in his head all he could hear was the haunting sound of Paul Sobriki screaming in terror as he and Lucy carried out an LP on him 3 weeks previously. 3 weeks, he thought. It had seemed like 3 months. With each day that had gone past he grew stronger, he was still in his wheelchair but he was beginning to get the hang of the crutches now. He would soon be discharged. But while Carter continued to improve Lucy remained the same. Everyday he would ask how she was and every time the answer was the same "no change". Some days he visited her and some days he couldn't bring himself to see her lying there, helpless, motionless.

Carter rubbed his eyes hard and looked away from the window, the brightness of the snow momentarily blinding him. He gazed out into the busy corridor through the half open blind and was brought back to reality. Today he had to see her. As he reached for his crutches he gritted his teeth against the pain and hoisted himself into a standing position. Slowly he made his way out of his room and down the corridor.

"Hello Dr. Carter" a passing nurse greeted him. Carter nodded his head in acknowledgment and carried on down the hall. Lucy had been moved to a side room at the end of the corridor. As Carter approached he mentally prepared himself. Nearing the door he realised it was ajar and stopped in his tracks when he heard voices. It was Lucy's doctor conducting his ward round.

"Anything new to report?" he asked the nurse while scanning her chart.

"No, condition remains the same, Sats, BP, temp and pulse are normal. Lacerations and surgical wounds are healing well, no sign of infection. ECG looks good. GCS is 3." The nurse responded.

Dr. Hayes made a sucking sound with his teeth and scribbled in Lucy's notes. "OK, how long has she been in a vegetative state?" he queried indifferently .

"22 days now" the nurse responded.

"Right, I need to talk to the family, we need to start thinking about turning off life support." He instructed as he casually hooked her chart back on the end of the bed.

Carter had listened and absorbed everything slowly. He couldn't quite believe what he had heard. As he observed how uncaring Lucy's doctor had been he angrily hobbled to the door and stopped Dr.Hayes on his way out.

"You're turning off the vent?!" he practically yelled in his face.

"Dr. Carter, Lucy is in a chronic vegetative state with next to no chance of recovery" he tried to explain.

"She's not brain dead!" Carter shot back, becoming frustrated.

"No but it's more than likely that she has brain damage. Her chances of recovery drastically drop with every day she remains in a coma. At this point the probability is extremely low. The only thing keeping her alive is that machine." Dr Hayes replied, hoping Carter would appreciate the situation from a medical point of view.

Carter shook his head "You can't do that, you can't just turn it off and let her die! It's illegal, you'd need-"

"a DNR? We already have one, Dr. Carter" he interjected. Carter was stunned and shocked, he looked at the floor and then back up at Dr. Hayes.

"How?" he asked, distraughtly.

Dr. Hayes sighed and motioned to the chairs down the corridor, indicating with his eyes a woman in a red coat with blonde hair. "The mother consented." He said before slipping past Carter and out of the room.

Carter followed his gaze and caught sight of Barbara Knight sitting opposite the nurses' station. He watched as Dr. Hayes greeted her and took her into a side room. When they were out of sight Carter hobbled over and sat down next to Lucy. She looked the same as she always did. He reached over and gently stroked her hair. Carter couldn't quite accept it, 10 minutes ago he had been walking down the corridor on his way to see Lucy, praying that there would be some improvement and she would be beginning to wake up. Now he was going to have to watch her die, watch while they gave up on her. Tears sprung into his eyes at the thought of losing her.

"Lucy, Lucy it's me, Carter" he said softly. "You have to wake up now, please Lucy, please just wake up, please" he said tearfully. As he took her hand he sat and cried, quietly praying for a miracle.

Carter had been sitting with her for a while before he heard the door creak open behind him. He spun around and gulped as he saw Barbara Knight standing in the doorway. He had seen her a few times in the last 3 weeks but mostly tried to avoid her. He felt enough guilt about the situation as it was, he couldn't really handle being around Lucy's distraught mother too. "Mrs Knight" he said acknowledging her.

"Please, call me Barbara" she said as she walked to the other side of the bed and hung her jacket over the chair. Barbara took Lucy's other hand and studied her daughter's face closely for any sign of reaction. "Lucy, it's mom, I'm here sweety" she said sincerely.

Carter felt as though he should leave the two alone but couldn't leave without asking about the DNR. He knew that it wasn't going to be an easy topic to address. Carter cleared his throat and paused for a second. "Dr. Hayes told me that you signed a DNR…" he eventually said, unable to look her in the eye.

Barbara looked down at Lucy's hand as she gathered her thoughts. "They explained the situation to me. They said that she's probably not going to wake up now. There's too much damage. If her heart fails again, I don't want them to put her through any more pain, I don't want them to have to crack her chest open like that again. I want my daughter to be able to die here peacefully." She said, finally looking at Carter.

Carter accepted her view but felt annoyed that Lucy's own mother was giving up on her. "Barbara, I understand how you feel but Lucy's a fighter. And I know that she would want us to do everything we can to help her get better" he said sincerely, trying to convince her.

"Ok, so let's say her heart does stop beating again. Let's say the doctors rip her open again and bring her back. What would happen then? She would still be in a coma relying on this machine to breath for her. Do you really think that's what Lucy wants? To lie her like this for eternity? I don't think you know my daughter as well as you think you do Dr. Carter" Barbara replied, resentment evident in her voice.

Carter let Lucy's hand go and looked at Barbara defensively. "Ok fine. But even if she doesn't code again you're still going to let Dr. Hayes turn off the vent aren't you?" Carter responded angrily.

Barbara was taken aback at how forward he was being. "My daughter would not want to be kept alive like this. I'm doing it for her" she fumed.

Carter looked away angrily "And what if she just needs a little more time? Can't you at least give her that?" he spat back.

Barbara regained her composure and looked at her daughter. There was a moments silence. "I'm sorry that you feel responsible for what happened to Lucy, but I am not going to make my daughter live like this just to make you feel better." She coldly said.

Carter was speechless. Slowly he got to his feet and grabbed his crutches. As he limped towards the door he tried desperately to control his emotions.

"We're turning off the machine on Friday. I suggest you say your goodbyes before then" Barbara said more calmly this time. Carter froze for a moment as her statement sunk in before continuing out the door and down the corridor. Somehow he had to convince her. He wasn't ready to give up on Lucy. As he got back to his room he slammed the door shut and sat down on the bed. Taking hold of his crutches he threw them across the room in a rage. As they crashed against the cabinet he began to cry uncontrollably.

He was going to do everything in his power to save Lucy. He owed it to her. Maybe Barbara was right, he couldn't let go because of the guilt. But it wasn't just the guilt, he loved Lucy. He had tried to deny it to himself but it had always been there. Carter silently cursed himself that it had taken a situation like this for him to finally admit it. He was so angry at himself for how he had treated her that day.

As he stared out the window at the snow he thought of Lucy and prayed that somehow he would be given the chance to make it up to her.

-----

Thanks guys for the reviews so far! They make me write quicker!! I have the whole thing planned out for the next 10 chapters or so and will try and get a new one out about every 3 days. Comments and criticisms welcome!


	3. Chapter 3

**Title: **Everyday is a Winding Road  
**Author: **EllaKnight22  
**Disclaimer: **I own nothing!  
**Rating: **T  
**Pairing: **Carcy!!  
**Summary: **How it should have been! Picks up from the end of the Season 6 episode 'All In The Family', Lucy doesn't die. Instead she survives but has to deal with the consequences of what happened to her. Carcy all the way!!

------

**CHAPTER 3**

It had been two days since the conversation with Barbara Knight and Carter had finally been discharged. He was back living with his grandmother in the Carter family mansion. It was early morning but Carter couldn't sleep. He stood by the stove leaning precariously on a crutch as he cooked scrambled eggs with the phone in his other hand. "Yes I'll hold" he told the receptionist on the other end of the line.

Carter had a plan to stop Dr. Hayes from turning off Lucy's vent but he knew it was going to be difficult to pull off. "Dr. Robertson, hi. My name is Dr John Carter and I'm a resident at County General. Sorry for calling you so early I wanted to catch you as soon as possible" Carter politely said to the man.

Carter turned off the stove and sat at the table as he listened intently to the phone. "Well I have a patient who has been comatose now for 24 days but I believe she still has a good chance of recovery. I've read your research within the field and I was wondering if you could carry out an assessment on her" Carter hopefully responded.

He carefully dished up his food with one hand as he listened to Dr. Robertson. "No the insurance won't cover it, your consultation will be privately funded, just send the bill over to me" he told the specialist.

"Tomorrow would be perfect! 1 o-clock, right. I'll meet you up on the 5th floor, see you then. Thank you" Carter said cheerfully as he hung up the phone. He smiled to himself happily. Now he had a hope he could focus on.

------

The doors to County General rolled open the next morning and Carter limped into the ER on his crutches. It was the first time he had stepped foot in the place since the incident and the thought terrified him. The familiar hustle of the admit desk assaulted his ears as he looked around at the chaos in front of him.

"Carter! Good to see you!" Chuny yelled happily as she ran over and quickly hugged Carter.

"Thanks Chuny" Carter replied gratefully.

The staff behind the admit desk looked up at the sound of his voice and greeted him.

"Carter! To what do we owe the pleasure?" Chen said as she made her way over to her fellow resident.

"Uh I have an appointment upstairs at 1pm" he replied.

"For physio?" Chen queried.

"Not exactly, you wanna grab a coffee?" he asked hopefully.

Chen smiled. "Sure, Just give me 5 minutes, I need to quickly discharge a patient"

"Ok, I'll wait in the lounge" Carter replied as he watched her dash off towards exam 3. He stared for a moment at the room as a feeling of dread entered his stomach at the thought of what had happened to him and Lucy there just a few weeks ago. Shaking the thoughts from his head he turned and entered the lounge to wait on Chen.

------

Music played loudly in the background as Chen and Carter sat down in Doc Magoos and ordered their coffee. "So what's this appointment all about?" Chen asked inquisitively.

Carter clasped his hands together and looked Chen in the eye. "Can you keep a secret?" he asked seriously.

Chen looked worried. "Of course, what is it?"

Carter took a deep breath and lowered his voice. "I spoke with Lucy's mom a few days ago. She wants to turn off Lucy's vent."

Chen looked down at her hands. "I know…we all do. She came down and spoke to Weaver. She wanted to let us know so we could have a chance to say goodbye before Friday." Chen admitted.

"And do you agree with it?" Carter inquired.

Chen was uncomfortable with the question and avoided his eyes. "Well it's been a long time now John and there's been no progress…frankly we all thought that her heart would have failed before now…" Chen explained quietly.

Now Carter was uncomfortable. "Look, I know that her chances are low, but she still has one and that's what I'm holding onto. And I know that Lucy would want us to give her that chance." He said, convincing his friend.

Chen sympathised with Carter and felt bad for assuming Lucy was a lost cause. "Alright, but it's not up to you Carter, it's up to Lucy's mom and her doctor." Chen sadly admitted.

"Well maybe I can change their minds" Carter said with a spark of hope in his voice.

"How?" Chen despondently asked.

"I've read some research on comatose patients conducted by a Dr Robertson right here in Chicago. He's a specialist in the field. I've asked him to come see Lucy today to conduct an assessment. I just want his opinion on whether or not we should be ending life support. If it goes well then Barbara Knight and Dr. Hayes will have to back down." Carter explained.

Chen half smiled, not wanting to get Carter's hopes up. "Well that's great, but how did you manage to convince them to let him come see Lucy?" she asked.

Carter looked guilty and rubbed the back of his neck uneasily. "I didn't, they don't know anything about it"

"They what?!" Chen yelled at him.

"One cappuccino and a latte?" the waitress asked as she interrupted their conversation.

Chen politely took the coffee and thanked the waitress before leaning in towards Carter. "Carter you can't do this without their permission, what if you get caught?" she said in a hushed voice.

"I'm just gonna have to take my chances. I have to do this Deb. I have to do it for Lucy. I owe her this much." He replied.

Chen understood what he was doing and although she disagreed she knew that Carter needed her support. "Ok, what time is he coming at?"

"1pm. You wanna be there?" Carter asked.

Chen looked at her watch. "Sure, we better get going soon"

Carter smiled at his friend and sipped his coffee. As he drank he silently prayed that they would be able to pull the whole thing off…

------

As the elevator opened on the 5th floor of the hospital Carter and Chen glanced up at the clock on the wall. It read 12.45pm. As they slowly made their way down the corridor they spotted four people by the nurses' station.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Carter was discharged a few days ago, there must be some mistake" the nurse said to one of the men, bewildered.

Carter overheard the exchange and rushed towards the group.

"Discharged? I'm sorry I don't understand…" Dr Robertson said as Carter appeared.

"Dr Robertson! Hi, I'm Dr. John Carter, good to meet you, sorry about that, come right this way" Carter hurriedly said, leading the other doctor away from the nurses' station as fast as he could.

Dr Robertson was confused. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Uh nothing, sorry she's new, well actually she's temping. My patient's room is just down here." Carter quickly explained, hoping he wouldn't think it was too suspicious.

As they entered Lucy's room Chen shut the door behind her and closed the blinds.

"Sorry we were early, we had a cancellation, unfortunate case, a young man died over at Mercy. He'd been comatose for two weeks." The consultant explained.

"That's not a problem" Carter told the man as he grabbed Lucy's chart from the end of her bed and handed it to Dr Robertson. "Uh, Dr. Chen could you possibly find me Miss Knight's medical notes please?" Carter said with a pleading look in his eyes.

Chen furrowed her brow. "How?..Uh I mean, of course Dr Carter… I'll be right back" Deb hesitantly said as she slipped out of the room and down the corridor.

"So what happened to your leg Dr. Carter?" the new doctor queried.

Carter stammered as he tried to think up an excuse "Oh that, um I got hit by a car…so anyway talk me through this, what does the assessment involve?"

Dr Robertson began to set up his equipment with his team. "Well first we review the case notes and then we conduct a special brain scan and check her reflexes and responses." He explained.

"Right, well Dr. Chen shouldn't be too long with the notes" Carter said unconvincingly. Dr Robertson looked at Carter strangely before continuing to set up his equipment.

Deb had gone back to the nurses' station and located the trolley with the patient's medical files. As she sifted through the names she didn't notice the charge nurse appear behind her.

"Got it!" she quietly said to herself as she found Lucy's file and began to hurry back down the corridor.

"Excuse me, where are you going with that file?" the nurse called after her, suspicion evident in her voice.

Deb froze, her eyes darting from side to side as she quickly thought up an excuse. "I was just fetching it for someone" she called as she spun around to face the nurse with an innocent look on her face.

The nurse looked her up and down. "Who exactly for?" she asked.

Deb frantically tried to remember the name of Lucy's doctor. "Um, Dr. Kayes..no, Dr. Hayes! That's it…sorry I'm new here!" she babbled quickly before turning around and racing down the corridor. The charge nurse watched her as she disappeared out of sight before picking up the phone and dialling a pager number.

"Here we go" Chen announced as she rushed back into Lucy's room and nervously slammed the door shut behind her. Carter gave her an annoyed glare in hopes she would start acting normal.

Dr Robertson witnessed the exchange and hesitantly took the notes from Chen.

"Ok, talk me through it doctor Carter, what's the history?" Dr Robertson asked as he flipped the notes open and put his glasses on.

Carter moved over to Lucy's bedside and sat down on a chair. "Miss Knight was stabbed several times, in the neck, chest and abdomen. These resulted in a laceration to her proximal aorta and some liver damage. They repaired these in surgery but they had to remove her spleen. There were some post op complications and she went into full arrest. They got her back but she hasn't woken up since." Carter responded, trying to clear his voice of all emotion.

"I see, and that was 3 weeks ago, yes?" he queried.

"Yeah just over 3 weeks" Carter told him.

"Ok, and when was the last EEG conducted?" Dr Robertson asked not sounding too hopeful.

Carter thought for a moment. "I think it was about 2 weeks ago" he honestly replied.

Dr Robertson gave him a look of doubt at his uncertainty and referred back to the notes. "Hang on, it doesn't have your name down as the doctor, it says here that Miss Knight's doctor is a Dr. Hayes?" he asked bewildered.

"Dr Hayes is on holiday and I'm covering for him." Carter quickly responded looking Dr Robertson directly in the eye. Chen looked on in worry.

Dr Robertson took a deep breath and dismissed his reservations. "Ok, let's begin with our scan" he finally said as his team began hooking Lucy up to the monitors.

Just then the door opened and Dr. Hayes entered with the charge nurse. "What the hell is going on in here??" he demanded.

Dr. Robertson looked to Dr. Carter. "Dr. Hayes, This is Dr. Robertson he has a lot of experience working with comatose patients, he's conducting a thorough assessment of Lucy." He quickly explained, trying to appeal to the doctor's good nature.

"Dr Carter I didn't authorise this and neither did the family, you have no right to be in here" he yelled.

Dr Robertson turned to Dr. Hayes. "I'm sorry I assumed Dr. Carter was the officiating physician on this case" he apologetically explained.

"Dr. Carter doesn't even work here, he works downstairs in the ER. He's a friend of Miss Knight." Dr Hayes clarified in exasperation.

Dr Robertson turned to Dr. Carter "So you're not her doctor and you're not the next of kin?" he inquired.

Carter sighed in exhaustion "No" he admitted as he looked at the floor. "But she's my friend and I do believe that turning off that ventilator is wrong. She deserves a chance. Please Dr. Robertson, Dr. Hayes can't you at least work together and just see what the tests say?" he pleaded.

"I'm sorry Dr. Carter, I can't carry out my assessment without permission from the doctor or at the request of the family." He solemnly said as he packed up his things.

Carter turned to Dr. Hayes in annoyance. "What is your problem? Don't you want what's best for Lucy??" he yelled.

"I decide what it best for my patient Dr. Carter, not you. Show a little professionalism. You can't let your personal feelings cloud your judgement. Stop flogging this poor girl and let her die with some dignity, please!" Dr. Hayes angrily shouted back.

Carter got to his feet and headed for the door. "No, you're wrong" he defiantly told the other doctor on his way out.

Chen hesitated in the doorway. "He's only trying to help his friend" she said before following Carter down the corridor.

"Carter, wait!" she called after him. Carter rushed down the corridor and pressed the elevator button. As it opened he stormed inside and Chen rushed in behind him. She looked at him and tears began to well up in her eyes at the sight. She wished there was something she could do to help him. "Carter…I'm sorry" she hopelessly said.

Carter closed his eyes tightly and willed himself not to give in to the tears but he couldn't. As the frustration began to surface he punched the side of the elevator hard. Leaning back against the elevator wall he slipped down and sat on the floor as he broke down. Chen quickly pressed the emergency stop button and ran over to Carter. She held him as he cried. "I can't lose her Deb, I just can't" he cried.

Deb could only sit with him and let him cry.


End file.
